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Claudio Ranieri wearing the Roma shirt. Photo by Unknown Author- Wikimedia commons

Top 10 Intriguing Facts about Claudio Ranieri

1.Claudio’s early professional career as a footballer and manager

Claudio Ranieri started his managerial career as a defender for different Italian clubs. He began his career with a small club called Campania Puteolana before moving to Caligari in 1988.

In 1989, the club sky rocketed and managed to win the Coppa Italia Serie C. Ranieri then transferred to Napoli, where he assisted the club to impressive victories over remarkable giants. After that, he moved on to other clubs, including Fiorentina, where he led the team to victories in the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana in 1996.

His strong performance at Fiorentina assisted him in getting a contract in the Spanish league. During his two years at Valencia, the club qualified for the UEFA Champions League and won the UEFA Intertoto Club. This paved the way for his entry into the prestigious English Premier League.

As Chelsea’s manager for the next four years, Ranieri established the groundwork for the champion team that reigned Europe for several years. Later, Ranieri joined Leicester City and led them to a remarkable victory, idolizing his name.

The 69-year-old was named Watford manager on a two-year contract in 2021, succeeding Xisco Muoz. All in all, Ranieri has become one of the most highly regarded football managers in the world, differentiated by his knowledge of the game.

2.Ranieri was a manager at Parma for only four months

Claudio Ranieri’s shortest managerial tenure was with Italian Serie A club Parma.

However, the reason he was only there for a short time was not because his team performed poorly; on the upside, when Ranieri took over at Parma in February 2007, the club had accumulated only 25 points in the first 28 matches of the season, however, Ranieri’s side accumulated a remarkable 17 points during the final 10 matches of the season to avoid relegation and even end the season as high as 12th place.

The manager left Parma since his outstanding style with the Italian club made him a famous manager who was wanted by several other teams, and the manager chose the head role at Juventus.

3.His early childhood and his family background

Ranieri was born in San Saba, a Rome neighborhood near the Circus Maximus, and has been a die hard fan of A.S. Roma. He started playing football at his local church. A childhood friend defined him as silent and reserved, which is characteristically English. He and his family live in Formello, a nearby town that also includes 1982 FIFA World Cup-winning goalkeeper Dino Zoff.

Dr. Rosanna Ranieri is Ranieri’s wife. Claudia Ranieri, Claudio’s daughter, married Italian actor Alessandro Roja and gave him a grandson named Orlando.

All through his tenure as manager of Leicester City, he drew press coverage when he mentioned that he would be traveling to Rome to have lunch with his 96-year-old mother rather than watching the Chelsea-Tottenham Hotspur match; the match ended in a 2-2 draw, granting Ranieri his first Premier League title.

4.Claudio Ranieri has never been victorious with the Top-Flight League Title

From left to right: Juventus’ coach Claudio Ranieri talks with his forward David Trezeguet. Photo by Carlo “Granchius” Bonini- Wikimedia commons

Ranieri has never managed to win a national title regardless of winning nine trophies in his professional life, along with the Coppa Italia in 1996 and the Copa del Rey in 1999.

Most prominently, he was extremely close with Chelsea during the 2003/04 season, when the Blues came second in the Premier League, the club’s best league end the season since 1955, with the most scores earned and the least amount of goals conceded in a season. The club, nevertheless, finished 11 points behind champions Arsenal.

5.His short lived professional football career before changing to a coach

Ranieri started his professional football career with Roma however, he only made six debuts in two seasons; he also spent a month on loan with Siracusa. Ranieri spent the majority of his career as a defender for Catanzaro (1974-1982), Catania (1982-1984), and Palermo (1984-1986).

He was involved in four profitable advertising campaigns (two with Catanzaro and one each with Catania and Palermo).

6.Chelsea supporters have honored Claudio time to time for bringing Frank Lampard to the team

I do not mean the literal lamps you put in your house to add some light. Claudio Ranieri, who managed Chelsea at the time, was the man who brought Frank Lampard from West Ham. At least this is something Chelsea fans can commend him for, given that the flukey Italian failed to win a single trophy during his four-year tenure, despite replacing Gianluca Vialli, who had won the FA Cup with Chelsea the year before, and then being replaced by José Mourinho, who won the EPL title immediately after replacing the Italian.

7.He has always had an impeccable style in managing his football teams

Claudio Ranieri appeals for a decision. Photo by Ronnie Macdonald- Wikimedia commons

Ranieri’s teams are recognized for their wellness and job efficiency, as well as their productive and intensive organized style of play, and for being compact both defensively and in midfield; his teams have taken kudos in the press for their positional discipline, impactful use of heavy pressing to win back ownership, and capacity to achieve goals from quick counter-attacks.

Some many players, media commentators, managers, and footballing icons compared his strategies with Leicester to those used by Diego Simeone at Atlético Madrid, as both managers were able to defeat tougher opponents and win titles regardless of having less economic muscle.

Ranieri has received attention as a manager for his command structure, good humour, and skill to both encourage and relieve pressure on his players, cultivating a strong attitude and a good team enthusiasm; he has regularly used many unconventional means to encourage his teams during his career, with varied results, while his retorts have made him a beloved figure with the press.

8.He often changed his game plan and was even famous for it

All through his career, Ranieri has been chastised for over-rotating his team and changing his strategies and lineups too frequently during the course of a season, earning him the nickname “The Tinkerman” in the British media.

In the past, commenters and other managers alleged him of employing “old-fashioned” and extremely immature strategic structures, and he was chastised for failing to win a significant league title until he won the Premier League with Leicester in 2016.

9.For a very long time Ranieri has had a grudge on Jose Mourinho

In 2008, Ranieri began a protracted feud with his Chelsea replacement, Jose Mourinho. It started with Ranieri’s team making a remark about Mourinho’s degree of success, saying, “He’s nothing like Mourinho: I don’t have to win to be sure of the things I do.”

Mourinho replied to Ranieri by saying, “He has the mentality of someone who doesn’t need to win anything.” He is almost 70 years old and has won a Super Cup as well as another smaller cup. He is too old to change his mind.” Ranieri was only 57 years old at the time.

10.He was fired from his job just after a year for poor performance

Regardless of having worked for such prestigious clubs, Ranieri’s most recent role as Greece’s manager is one he will want to forget. Greece won none of their four games under Ranieri’s leadership, and he was fired last year after suffering a home defeat at the hands of Faroe Islands minnows, who won only their 20th game since beginning international play in 1988.